On December 10th, the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) inaugurated the construction of a support centre for AO victims in Thach That district where the victims will be given healthcare, rehabilitation and vocational training. During the ceremony, Nguyen Van Rinh, VAVA President, stressed that the chemical war conducted by the US in Vietnam had negatively affected the quality of life for a significant number of people. “Hundreds of thousands of victims among 3 million have died in pain while many others lead unconscious lives or do not have any spouse for support”, he said. “A majority of the victims are jobless”. He noted that the construction of the centre was a highly valuable step in the right direction. Assessing the construction as one holding a deep humanitarian and social significance and one which demonstrated a realization of social responsibility and affection for the victims, he highlighted the capital contributions from organizations and individuals for the construction, including the military commission of the party central committee and the Ministry of National Defense (VND8 billion), the Military-run Telecommunications Group (VND10 billion), the Veterans’ Association from the Vietnam National Gas and Oil Group (VND9.5 billion), the Northern Power Corporation (VND4.8 billion), and the Thanh Cong environmental cooperative (VND2 billion). The construction will be built from 2014 to 2018 with a total capital of VND351 billion, including VND151 billion to be spent on support facilities and VND200 billion on a vocational training college. The VAVA continued to call on Party committees, authorities, unions, all classes of people, enterprises, domestic and foreign sponsors, and overseas Vietnamese to donate capital for the centre and for the victims and their families. During the inauguration ceremony, the VAVA received an additional VND34 billion in assistance from sponsors. (Dangcongsan.vn Dec 11)
